Miami Marlins: Making sense of Sandy Alcantara to the Dodgers trade speculation

Fansided's sister site, Dodger Way, which covers the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently wrote a reaction to an MLB Network post involving the Miami Marlins. The post contains a prediction from host Greg Amsinger that former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara will be traded to Los Angeles this offseason. For context, this is an opinion post, not a formal report.

What should Miami Marlins fans make of speculation that ace Sandy Alcantara could be traded?

This idea is fascinating from several perspectives. A move like this would further bolster the World Series champion Dodgers, who have formed MLB's modern super team. More importantly for Marlins' fans, this type of transaction would send ripples through the franchise's present and future.

What could Los Angeles offer Miami to incentivize them to trade away their franchise player? Any trade talks would have to include LA's top prospect Dalton Rushing (MLB's 39th overall prospect). The combination catcher/outfielder is a phenomenal athlete with the legitimate potential to play either backstop, outfield, or first base.

He has a great batting eye, with the ability to consistently take walks. This skill and his impressive raw power give him an exciting upside.

For all the prospect trades the Peter-Bendix-led Marlins have been able to make, they have yet to acquire a truly elite prospect. A player like Rushing would be an ideal cherry on top of the rebuild.

Adding an MLB-ready player like Dustin May into the deal would also make sense from the Marlins' perspective. While the oft-injured starter is recovering from season-ending surgery to repair an esophageal tear, he is expected to make a full recovery.

Though he has wrestled with injury issues, the 26-year-old May has been electric when he's on the field. He holds a career 3.10 ERA with excellent strikeout skills and dynamic stuff.

The Dodgers already have a stacked rotation of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, May, and Tony Gonsolin. If the club indeed traded for a sure-fire starter like Sandy, it would make sense for them to move one of the latter two.

Would the combination of Rushing and May be enough to swing a deal? Perhaps Bendix and company would ask for a lower-tier prospect or two as sweeteners. However, on paper, a deal like this could make sense for both parties.

At the end of the day, if the Marlins do elect to move Alcantara to bolster their extensive rebuild, it would be critical for them to receive a prospect with legitimate All-Star upside. The Dodgers have the farm system firepower to make a deal like this worthwhile.